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Trump gives Liberian immigrants another extension to stay in U.S.

By Paul WalshStar Tribune

Thu., March 28, 2019timer3 min. read

MINNEAPOLIS—The Trump administration has tacked on another year’s delay in following through and removing immigration protections for Liberians living in the United States, the White House announced Thursday.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is spearheading an effort to preserve the Deferred Enforced Departure, or DED, program, which has helped thousands of Liberians settle in the United States to escape civil war being fought there since the early 1990s, as well as environmental disasters and the Ebola virus.

Ellison argues that Minnesota, which has one of the nation’s largest Liberian communities, would see its health and social services industries harmed because many Liberians work in those sectors, which already are beset by worker shortages.

Minnesota is home to nearly 16,000 people who were born in Liberia or claim Liberian ancestry.

“We ... are feeling great relief for our clients and community members,” said Shelby Pasell, a senior administrator for the St. Paul-based International Institute of Minnesota, a non-profit that assists immigrants in adjusting to their new country.

Abdullah Kiatamba, executive director of African Immigrant Services in Minnesota and a national voice in the push for extension, said, ending the program “would have separated families ... caused so many problems in our community.”

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President Donald Trump, in his directive Thursday to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, said, “I have decided that is in the foreign policy interest of the United States to extend the wind-down period for an additional 12 months, through March 30, 2020.”

The DED protections were first instituted by then-President George W. Bush and since 2007 have been extended by subsequent administrations, allowing recipients to remain in the United States legally and receive work authorization.

Trump would like to see the protections end at some point. That would mean Liberians living in the U.S. under the program would have to return to their home country or be subject to deportation.

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“The overall situation in West Africa remains concerning,” Trump’s directive continued, “and Liberia is an important regional partner for the United States. The reintegration of (DED program) beneficiaries into Liberian civil and political life will be a complex task, and an unsuccessful transition could strain United States-Liberian relations and undermine Liberia’s post-Civil war strides toward democracy and political stability.”

U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., whose west suburban district has a sizable Liberian population, called the president’s action “excellent news and I am thrilled for our Liberian community. They are our family and deserve admiration for their relentless fight for this DED extension. The White House has been responsive and helpful throughout this process and I am grateful to President Trump for hearing our voices and taking action.”

Minnesota’s senior U.S. senator, Amy Klobuchar, hailed the move by the man she hopes to succeed as president.

“The vision of them taking grandma in her wheelchair, after she’s been here 30 years, back to a country (where) she hasn’t been for decades — it just didn’t make a lot of sense,” Klobuchar said in an interview.

She said Congress must make a priority of finding a permanent fix, but she expressed concern that a year from now, “We might well be back in this same situation, which just seems absurd.”

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, echoed her fellow Minnesota Democrats’ sentiments and added, “Liberians are our neighbours, our families, our friends. Many of these people have been living legally in the United States for more than 20 years. This is their home, and they deserve the opportunity to become citizens. Congress must now act and create opportunities for citizenship.”

While Trump has determined that conditions have improved in the past year, after decades of violence in the West African nation, this is the second time he has delayed the “wind down” for a year. The current extension was to have expired March 31.

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His directive also expressed a desire to give Congress time as it “considers remedial legislation” that would make repeatedly granting one-year extensions unnecessary.

Ellison is leading a coalition of 10 attorneys general attempting to block Trump from scrapping the 12-year-old program.

A group of plaintiffs affected by the decision sued Trump and Nielsen this month, asking Massachusetts U.S. District Judge Timothy for a nationwide preliminary injunction to prevent Trump from ending their legal protections.

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